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The FBI’s current headquarters in Washington D.C., named after J. Edgar Hoover.

By Steve Neavling Ticklethewire.com

Some Democratic lawmakers are accusing President Trump of intervening in the project to building a new FBI headquarters because the current building is a stone’s throw from his Washington hotel.

In February, Trump’s administration abruptly ended long-standing plans to build a new headquarters in the suburbs in Maryland or Virginia.

Some lawmakers say Trump has a personal stake in keeping the headquarters in Washington D.C. so a new competing hotel doesn’t take its place.

Trump recently became intimately involved in the project to build a new headquarters at the current site, ranting that the current building is “terrible.”

“Honestly, I think it’s one of the ugliest buildings in the city,” Axios reported Trump saying.

“It’s no surprise Trump is fixated on the FBI HQ,” Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., tweeted. “Yet another example of his conflicts of interest. It’s prime real estate down the street from Trump International. He has business ties w/ one of the bidders. It’s why I asked the IG to investigate.”

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., urged the president to let the GSA resume its original plans of relocating the building to a new site.

“The men and women of the @FBI have long needed a new headquarters, as the Hoover Building is crumbling around them,” Cardin tweeted. “@POTUS needs to let @USGSA return to the nearly-complete process of selecting a new suburban site for the #FBI and step out of the details.”

“Trump has an obsession with renovating the FBI HQ at its current location—despite recommendations to find a more secure location,” Van Hollen tweeted . Could it be a new hotel there would eat into the profits of the nearby Trump Hotel? We should put the security of FBI before Trump’s pocketbook!”

Trump has an obsession with renovating the FBI HQ at its current location—despite recommendations to find a more secure location. Could it be a new hotel there would eat into the profits of the nearby Trump Hotel? We should put the security of FBI before Trump’s pocketbook! https://t.co/AFJ7wmPVLT

Virginia’s Democratic senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and Tim Kaine said in a joint statement Monday the Trump’s micromanagement of the project is delaying a much-needed new headquarters.

Sen. Mark Warner

“That’s one reason why it is important that we see the results of the IG investigation into this decision,” the statement reads. “Our hardworking law enforcement and intelligence professionals deserve a state-of-the-art and secure facility. Having President Trump micromanage this complex procurement—with so many other issues on his plate and so many questions about apparent conflicts of interest here—just isn’t helpful to these public servants or to the region.”

The White House responded that Trump’s involvement is intended to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent appropriately.

“The president is interested in making sure taxpayer dollars spent on new buildings are being spent wisely and appropriately,” Sarah Huckabee said in a statement. “He has been a builder all of his life and it should come as no surprise he wants to take the skills and great success he had in the private sector and apply it here.”

The FBI declined to comment.

Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., recently unveiled an infrastructure plan that could provide the funding required to allow the Trump administration to replace the crumbing, four-decade-old headquarters with a new one at the current site.

“Honestly, I think it’s one of the ugliest buildings in the city,” Trump reportedly said.

The source said Trump, who is known for micro-managing building projects in the private sector, reportedly wants to do the same with the FBI building, treating it like a Trump tower project.

But those projects don’t have the same level of security required for an FBI building.

“POTUS has interest in the issue and has met with FBI officials, but more importantly the GSA [General Services Administration] team. GSA has concerns that the building can’t be rehabilitated particularly given the security requirements and has relayed that to him,” the White House told Axios of Trump’s plans to renovate.

The FBI has been searching for a new headquarters for years, but funding problems continue to delay the project.

The FBI’s current headquarters in Washington D.C., named after J. Edgar Hoover.

By Steve Neavling Ticklethewire.com

The General Services Administration’s inspector general is investigating President Trump’s abrupt change in plans for a new FBI headquarters.

“My office will review GSA’s decision-making process for the revised FBI Headquarters Consolidation project,” GSA Inspector General Carol Ochoa wrote in a letter to Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Virginia, on Tuesday. “The scope of our review will include whether the revised plan properly accounts for the full costs and security requirements of the project.”

Connolly, a leading Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, requested the investigation to determine why the president abandoned a decade-long plan to move the headquarters to a consolidated campus in Washington D.C.’s suburbs.

Trump’s new plan calls for demolishing the current headquarters, which is cramped and outdated, and replace it with a new building.

Connolly and other lawmakers said the GSA has failed to give an adequate explanation for the sudden change in plans.

The FBI’s current headquarters in Washington D.C., named after J. Edgar Hoover.

By Steve Neavling Ticklethewire.com

President Trump scrapped a long-delayed plan to build a new FBI headquarters outside of Washington D.C. in favor of rebuilding at the current site.

Trump’s proposal calls for more than $2 billion for the building project, which must be approved by Congress.

The FBI submitted a report to the Senate on a “nationally focused consolidation strategy for FBI headquarters,” which recommends a new building on the site of the current one, which has become cramped and outdated

“The FBI believes this proposed consolidation strategy enhances mission resiliency, continuity of operations, and will provide the Bureau with the agility necessary to meet future needs,” the agency said.

The FBI’s current headquarters in Washington D.C., named after J. Edgar Hoover.

By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com

Long-stalled plans to build a new FBI headquarters outside of District limits has taken a stunning, expected turn: The General Services Administration appears to prefer building the bureau’s new home at the current site, the Washington Business Journal reports.

The GSA faces a deadline today to submit a detailed plan to the Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public Works on efforts build a new headquarters.

But the GSA’s apparent endorsement of building on the current site is not the final word because additional appropriations would require congressional approval.

The current headquarters, built in 1974, is dilapidated and no longer useful to the FBI.

A new headquarters is expected to house the 11,000 FBI staff members who are spread across multiple locations in the region.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday raised hopes that the FBI may get a new headquarters after all.

The committee’s new plan would require the FBI to develop a plan within 30 days of the bill’s passage to relocate the FBI headquarters at the J. Edgar Hoover Building, the Washington Post reports.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said he wants the FBI to replace his aging, cramped headquarters

“What they’ve said is they’re not going to proceed with the old procurement process,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “They have not indicated that they’re opposed to consolation. In fact we believe they’ll be supportive of moving forward with FBI consolidation.”

The Post reports:

If adopted and passed through a final budget package, the language would redirect the FBI to not only come up with a consolidation plan, but also justify the cancellation, detail the scope and cost for keeping the current headquarters operational until a move and explain how the fiscal year 2017 money will be spent.

The House Appropriations Committee recently adopted similar language based on a proposal from Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) that would give the GSA 60 days from the bill’s passage to develop an alternative plan for consolidation.

The earlier plan would have awarded the winning bidder a chance to redevelop the Hoover site downtown and helped the government foot the bill for the new project.

A new FBI headquarters that has been in the works for more than 10 years has been scrapped, leaving agents and employees with no immediate solution to abandoning the crumbling, antiquated J. Edgar Hoover Building on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Among the stubborn snags has been Congress’ failure to provide enough money for a new building in the Washington suburbs. Under the plan, the FBI would trade the J. Edgar Hoover Building for space to build a new headquarters in the suburbs. The total cost to taxpayers was $2 billion.

Another roadblock was the lack of consistent leadership at the FBI and General Services Administration, which plans to announce the cancelation to bidders and in meetings on Capitol Hill this morning, The Washington Post reported Monday.

The 2.8-million-square-foot Hoover Building, which was dedicated in 1975, has been a constant source of frustration for agents and employees who also worry whether the deplorable conditions could cause security issues.